That's it for now.
Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
I've got another one. Just return from a stroll through old Witikon. Witikon is a part of the city of Zurich but a bit remote on a hill. In the old Witikon church, Wilhelm Reublin was the preacher during reformation times. He joined the anabaptists and was one of the more revolutionary elements. He refused tithing and was the first Swiss preacher to breach celibacy. This was his workplace until he had to move...
That's it for now.
That's it for now.
1 x
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
Lately I spent a week in the Swiss Jura region. This is the hotbed of the Swiss Anabaptists. They first came here when the government of the reformed state of Bern persecuted them. Back in the day, the region belonged to the catholic prince bishop of Basel. In contrast to the reformed state of Bern, the bishop was happy to accept the Anabaptists on his territory, as long as they stayed in the highlands. According to folklore, they had to stay above 1000 meters above sea level.
I knew all that, but little did I know that my parents-in-law who had organised the holiday home, had (unknowingly) rented an old Anabaptist house for our holidays. The 17th century house in the hamlet of La Bottière was inhabited by a Mennonite family until some 20 years ago. They lived off grid. Today, the renovated house is let by the present owners on Airbnb. It's an excellent homebase to discover the region and if any of you go ancestry hunting in this part of Switzerland, I would warmly recommend it.
This is it from the front:
Back:
La Bottière, the house on the left. The farm on the right is still run by a Mennonite family.
Interior:
As steep staircase leads from the ground level to the first floor.
The old kitchen sink from the days before running water. There is a new state of the art kitchen now but the renovation work did not eliminate the original infrastructure. The electronic gadgets are not original
They also kept the old oven in the living room:
Although it was not the primary goal of our holidays, I managed to visit a few historic Anabaptist places. I will post more pictures soon, so keep watching this space.
I knew all that, but little did I know that my parents-in-law who had organised the holiday home, had (unknowingly) rented an old Anabaptist house for our holidays. The 17th century house in the hamlet of La Bottière was inhabited by a Mennonite family until some 20 years ago. They lived off grid. Today, the renovated house is let by the present owners on Airbnb. It's an excellent homebase to discover the region and if any of you go ancestry hunting in this part of Switzerland, I would warmly recommend it.
This is it from the front:
Back:
La Bottière, the house on the left. The farm on the right is still run by a Mennonite family.
Interior:
As steep staircase leads from the ground level to the first floor.
The old kitchen sink from the days before running water. There is a new state of the art kitchen now but the renovation work did not eliminate the original infrastructure. The electronic gadgets are not original
They also kept the old oven in the living room:
Although it was not the primary goal of our holidays, I managed to visit a few historic Anabaptist places. I will post more pictures soon, so keep watching this space.
1 x
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
Another day another post! From La Bottière (see above post) the hamlet of Moron can be reached by foot in about 20 minutes. Yes, it is really called Moron 
Here's proof:
Moron is a small village hidden in the Jura pine forests on 1002 meters above sea level. It has its name from Mount Moron, a 1337 m hill with a nice lookout tower designed by Mario Botta. According to wikipedia, Mount Moron has its name from the latin mons rotundus, the "round mountain". There you have it.
Anyway, Moron village is a classic Mennonite village in the Jura region as it is above the required 1000 meters (see above post), and is still almost entirely inhabited by Mennonites.
Moron has a Mennonite chapel, which is used by the Petit-Val Mennonite congregation, which has 219 members and two other meeting places, one at Les Ecorcheresses and the other in Moutier. It goes back to 1892. And here it is:
As you can see, it boasts a wooden annex.
The house next to the chapel is a Mennonite school. The school became a public school in 1917 but it is now closed due to a lack of pupils.
School.
The chapel even has colored windows!
What do you say, would that fly in your congregation or would it be deemed too "worldly"?
More info:
https://mennopetitval.com/
https://www.arcinfo.ch/sortir-articles/ ... uche-63965
Here's proof:Moron is a small village hidden in the Jura pine forests on 1002 meters above sea level. It has its name from Mount Moron, a 1337 m hill with a nice lookout tower designed by Mario Botta. According to wikipedia, Mount Moron has its name from the latin mons rotundus, the "round mountain". There you have it.
Anyway, Moron village is a classic Mennonite village in the Jura region as it is above the required 1000 meters (see above post), and is still almost entirely inhabited by Mennonites.
Moron has a Mennonite chapel, which is used by the Petit-Val Mennonite congregation, which has 219 members and two other meeting places, one at Les Ecorcheresses and the other in Moutier. It goes back to 1892. And here it is:
As you can see, it boasts a wooden annex.
The house next to the chapel is a Mennonite school. The school became a public school in 1917 but it is now closed due to a lack of pupils.
School.
The chapel even has colored windows!
What do you say, would that fly in your congregation or would it be deemed too "worldly"?
More info:
https://mennopetitval.com/
https://www.arcinfo.ch/sortir-articles/ ... uche-63965
1 x
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
From Moron (see previous post), it is a short drive down to the Gorges de Pichoux, a narrow cleft leading from the Canton of Berne to the Canton of Jura. Just before driving into the Gorges, and still on the Berne side, you can instead park your car and take a short walk to one of the lesser known Anabaptist places in the region: the Goats' Chapel.
The Goats' Chapel is an Anabaptist meeting place that was used back in the day of persecution of the Brethren. Before that (or in parallel), this cave was used by shepherds for hiding their flocks from thunderstorms, hence the name.
If you want to visit the cave, look out for the following small symbol on the signposts:
The beginning of the path with the signpost and the tiny green marker.
The first few minutes the path is on level ground following a stream but then you have to head up left. The path is narrow and the marker small. As you can see from my wife's outfit it was a bit of a stinker of a day but then again you are mostly covered by trees even if it rains.
After around 20 minutes you reach the next marker directing you down an even narrower path to the chapel.
Looking towards the cave just visible through the trees.
Here it is, ancient Anabaptist meeting place / goat shelter. It seems that the local congregation still uses it from time to time for memorial services.
It's an impressive cave, not as spacious as the Bäretswil Täuferhöhle (see earlier in this thread) but much higher. The blue spot is my wife, to give you a perspective. Mid-height there is a memorial plaque.
There are also two carvings with the date of 1779. I read somewhere that this might be the date the community ceased to use the cave.
It would be possible to climb further up in the forest and then another way back down to the Gorges, with a restaurant along the way but as the weather was foul and we had one more Anabaptist place to visit (stay tuned) we headed down the same short way to the car.
The Goats' Chapel is an Anabaptist meeting place that was used back in the day of persecution of the Brethren. Before that (or in parallel), this cave was used by shepherds for hiding their flocks from thunderstorms, hence the name.
If you want to visit the cave, look out for the following small symbol on the signposts:
The beginning of the path with the signpost and the tiny green marker.
The first few minutes the path is on level ground following a stream but then you have to head up left. The path is narrow and the marker small. As you can see from my wife's outfit it was a bit of a stinker of a day but then again you are mostly covered by trees even if it rains.
After around 20 minutes you reach the next marker directing you down an even narrower path to the chapel.
Looking towards the cave just visible through the trees.
Here it is, ancient Anabaptist meeting place / goat shelter. It seems that the local congregation still uses it from time to time for memorial services.
It's an impressive cave, not as spacious as the Bäretswil Täuferhöhle (see earlier in this thread) but much higher. The blue spot is my wife, to give you a perspective. Mid-height there is a memorial plaque.
There are also two carvings with the date of 1779. I read somewhere that this might be the date the community ceased to use the cave.
It would be possible to climb further up in the forest and then another way back down to the Gorges, with a restaurant along the way but as the weather was foul and we had one more Anabaptist place to visit (stay tuned) we headed down the same short way to the car.
1 x
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
Right, so far our Anabaptist places in the Jura region were in the Little Valley (Kleintal / Petitval). The congregation there has three meeting places, I showed you the one at Moron. It is not the only congregation having more than one meeting place.
Let's move to the Sun Mountain (Sonnenberg / Mont Soleil) congregation with currently three meeting places. There were even four of them until not long ago but the Mont Tramelan address is no longer listed on their website. I visited the three remaining sites but only drove by Les Mottes without taking any pictures. Les Mottes is more of a educational / recreational centre than a proper church (even if it has a meeting hall). There are photos on the website. https://www.menno-sonnenberg.ch/contact.
The remaining two sites are a bit of a contrast, with Jean Gui being a rural church in a most idyllic setting and the Tramelan church being somewhat "urban" (if "urban" is the right word for a town of not even 5'000 inhabitants). But have a look:
Jean Gui first. It's located on a hill at 1030 meters above sea level (remember the 1000m rule) and also houses the archives of the Swiss Mennonite Conference. They have an open archives doors event this Sunday if you happen to be in the region...
Lovely isn't it?
And here is the "urban" church in Tramelan:
Looks almost grand, doesn't it? Well, the Sonnenberg congregation is the largest in Switzerland with 390 members.
Let's move to the Sun Mountain (Sonnenberg / Mont Soleil) congregation with currently three meeting places. There were even four of them until not long ago but the Mont Tramelan address is no longer listed on their website. I visited the three remaining sites but only drove by Les Mottes without taking any pictures. Les Mottes is more of a educational / recreational centre than a proper church (even if it has a meeting hall). There are photos on the website. https://www.menno-sonnenberg.ch/contact.
The remaining two sites are a bit of a contrast, with Jean Gui being a rural church in a most idyllic setting and the Tramelan church being somewhat "urban" (if "urban" is the right word for a town of not even 5'000 inhabitants). But have a look:
Jean Gui first. It's located on a hill at 1030 meters above sea level (remember the 1000m rule) and also houses the archives of the Swiss Mennonite Conference. They have an open archives doors event this Sunday if you happen to be in the region...
Lovely isn't it?
And here is the "urban" church in Tramelan:
Looks almost grand, doesn't it? Well, the Sonnenberg congregation is the largest in Switzerland with 390 members.
1 x
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
Here is the last post from my holidays in the Jura region. It's also the highlight: The Anabaptist Bridge (Täuferbrücke / le pont des anabaptistes).
The bridge is located on a hill above Corgémont. Or rather was, as the original bridge is long gone. It was made out of wood and had to be renewed every 15 to 20 years. Around 1830 it was replaced by a stone bridge, which collapsed in 1924. A few years later, the road was improved and now leads around the valley. At the location of the old bridge, a foot passenger bridge was installed in 2010.
Back in the days of persecution, the Anabaptists used to meet below the old bridge for worship. Today, the local Mennonite congregation gathers at the place for memorial services from time to time. It's also visited by Anabaptist tourists from overseas. Let's have a look at the place!
When you arrive at the bridge, there are a few memorial and informative touristy gimmicks.
A stone column with movable elements. If you look close you can see a picture of an Anabaptist getting beheaded...
Info table, even in English:
Here's the rest of the old stone bridge, with the new footbridge to the right.
Looking towards the remains of the old bridge from the foot bridge.
Looking down over the new bridge to the left, the old bridge to the right and the touristy stuff in the background.
So far so good but the really interesting stuff is below the bridge. There is a footpath leading down there. Let's go!
Approaching the bridge from below. Can you see the yellow spot on the remains of the old bridge?
It serves a purpose. There is a small glass window on the ground you can look through with an old photo of the bridge on it and if you align the yellow spot on the photo with the yellow spot on the remains you can see where the old bridge was exactly located. Clever!
There is also a memorial plaque under the bridge remembering the days of persecution in the 17th century.
But the most fascinating feature is the Anabaptist Graffiti! It goes back to 1663, can you imagine that?
Looking up to the bridge from down the valley. Looks like the jungle, doesn't it? The day was a bit of a stinker but it added to the atmosphere quite nicely.
That's all for the moment. It would be nice if someone else would add a few pictures, this thread is not supposed to be a one man show
The bridge is located on a hill above Corgémont. Or rather was, as the original bridge is long gone. It was made out of wood and had to be renewed every 15 to 20 years. Around 1830 it was replaced by a stone bridge, which collapsed in 1924. A few years later, the road was improved and now leads around the valley. At the location of the old bridge, a foot passenger bridge was installed in 2010.
Back in the days of persecution, the Anabaptists used to meet below the old bridge for worship. Today, the local Mennonite congregation gathers at the place for memorial services from time to time. It's also visited by Anabaptist tourists from overseas. Let's have a look at the place!
When you arrive at the bridge, there are a few memorial and informative touristy gimmicks.
A stone column with movable elements. If you look close you can see a picture of an Anabaptist getting beheaded...
Info table, even in English:
Here's the rest of the old stone bridge, with the new footbridge to the right.
Looking towards the remains of the old bridge from the foot bridge.
Looking down over the new bridge to the left, the old bridge to the right and the touristy stuff in the background.
So far so good but the really interesting stuff is below the bridge. There is a footpath leading down there. Let's go!
Approaching the bridge from below. Can you see the yellow spot on the remains of the old bridge?
It serves a purpose. There is a small glass window on the ground you can look through with an old photo of the bridge on it and if you align the yellow spot on the photo with the yellow spot on the remains you can see where the old bridge was exactly located. Clever!
There is also a memorial plaque under the bridge remembering the days of persecution in the 17th century.
But the most fascinating feature is the Anabaptist Graffiti! It goes back to 1663, can you imagine that?
Looking up to the bridge from down the valley. Looks like the jungle, doesn't it? The day was a bit of a stinker but it added to the atmosphere quite nicely.
That's all for the moment. It would be nice if someone else would add a few pictures, this thread is not supposed to be a one man show
1 x
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Josh
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
Thanks. These pictures were distinctively Swiss. 
I live in a heavy Swiss background area and so much of it looks exactly like home.
I live in a heavy Swiss background area and so much of it looks exactly like home.
1 x
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RZehr
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temporal1
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
So enjoying your pictures, esp with descriptions. Thank you... Swiss Bro:
.. “That's all for the moment. It would be nice if someone else would add a few pictures, this thread is not supposed to be a one man show
Notice, you have 675+ views here already! Typically, many quietly read this forum, without posting.
Please continue as you’re able.
i hope others will contribute, too.
is this thread for Swiss sites, only? or, do you hope for various locations?
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Swiss Bro
Re: Historic Anabaptist Places (Pictures itt)
Thanks for the nice reactions, Josh, RZehr and Temporal. 
I didn't mean my last post to come across salty. It's just that I have used all my material for the moment and it might be a while until I get to visit interesting historic Anabaptist places. That's why it would be nice if someone would post some of their own pics in the meantime. Pictures from all across the world are welcome if they have a story to tell.
I didn't mean my last post to come across salty. It's just that I have used all my material for the moment and it might be a while until I get to visit interesting historic Anabaptist places. That's why it would be nice if someone would post some of their own pics in the meantime. Pictures from all across the world are welcome if they have a story to tell.
1 x